Dalemazkour - Therapy Help

[Sleeprider]

Dalemazkour, there are two things I'd like to do. Earlier on in this thread you were using PS 6.0. I'd like to get you back to PS 5.0 because you do better with higher pressure support. EPAP needs to come up to 8.0 because your events are obstructive. Your events are also clustered, so something about the collar or pillow is not working and causing an obstruction to your throat or not maintaining a good airway alignment. In summary EPAP min 8.0, IPAP max 20, PS 5.0, trigger high, and work on the positional issues. There is no central apnea anywhere in your results, so ASV is not where you need to be.

[UnicornRider]

Went to sleep doctor on Wednesday and he said that anything under 13 AHI is fine given what I was at prior. He said my oxygen saturation levels are extremely low so I added a T Tube with an o2 concentrator set at 2 liters.  I was curious if you guys find this data better and also been trying to tighten the mask a little more for leaks.  I did try the other mask recommended from Vitera and wasn't a big fan so this data is with the medium resmed F20 mask. Let me know your thoughts if you would change anything. I am waking up with extremely dry mouth but AHI is better than earlier this week.

Dale, I am going to cover a lot so do not feel overwhelmed. You have a lifetime of PAP therapy ahead of you. You will not get it all in one night. I have to go back and review Wiki information often. This is your thread, you will be able to refer back to this thread to review.

You have an O2 concentrator, was it prescribed for all day use, or only at night with Bi-Level PAP? What prescription level was prescribed?  X.X Liters/Minute.

Who calculated your setting for use with your AirCurve 10 VAuto? At 2 liters/minute connected to your ResMed I do not think is sufficient if you have serious desaturations. Just seat of the pants, WAG.

Your leak rate will seriously degrade the FiO2(fraction of inspired Oxygen). So first of all you need to get your leak rate under control. Leaks are a demon I fought for a long time, then some one guided me to the WIki article: Mask Primer

Be sure to read everything down to "How to achieve the perfect mask fit - GUARANTEED! by Jeffy1958"  

Jeffy1958  puts all of the previous information in to an easy to understand practical application. Most people tend to over-tighten their mask. His method corrected over 10 years of my using a mask wrong. At my therapy pressures with the masks that I use, his method allowed me to achieve 0.00 leak rates. Read and reread and practice his method.

Chart Organization helps the forum members help you. So I am going to recommend a couple of YT videos that a forum member "CPAP Friend" has put together, After you get your mask leak tight, I suggest wearing your mask at therapy pressure while reviewing the YT videos and Wiki articles. It will help acclimate your body to the fit and feel of your mask under pressure.

Google this:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32JwMc6dphQ&t=283s

Google this:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujaoKvBnP00&t=10s

Wiki article to go with the YT videos: Organize your OSCAR Charts  

A brief personal history and testimonial. My family caught a nasty respiratory illness last September, we tested negative for Covid, Flu and RSV. But we all lost our respiratory drive. My mother ended up on supplemental O2, the other three of us, because we could respond to the audible and vibratory alarms of our Pulse/Oximeter then hyperventilate to restore our SpO2 to somewhat normal levels, it was recommended we not go on supplemental O2 unless absolutely necessary. At that time the medical staff said it could be 6 to 9 months possibly a year before our respiratory drive was restored. It has been 8 months and we are getting better, but we all wear a Pulse/Oximeter all day, short of time to download data and recharge the device.

Ratchick, a fellow forum member wrote a product review that inspired me to purchase 4 ea Wellue "Checkme O2 Max" Pulse/Oximeters when we found out we were walking desaturated zombies. I will link you to the product review where she starts with the upgraded Checkme O2 Max, you can start at the beginning of the thread to see the evaluation of the straight Checkme O2.

Ratchick critique of Checkme O2 Max:  https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread...#pid427997

If you are desaturating and need an O2 concentrator as well as a Bi-Level device, the true measure of your body's response is with a Pulse/Oximeter, You probably need one. Although the Wellue Checkme O2 Max documentation says it is to be used to monitor SpO2 and Pulse during sleep, we wear ours all day unless activities of daily living makes us take it off. We do wear fingerless gloves to ensure good contact of the sensor to the finger, shield the sensor from ambient light, prevent snagging the Micro USB cable from sensor to wrist device and protect the sensor ring from physical damage.

Now for the hard dart. How to figure out your FiO2. It is not as hard as Chinese Arithmetic, but a good understanding of Cooke Book Math helps.

Wiki article:   Oxygen Bleed with CPAP 

Finally I suggest you update your OSCAR to 1.5.3  

• OSCAR Installation
  

 

If you have any questions, concerns or doubts, please post back, we are here to help.